Columbus Coffee made it a clean sweep of the Northern Regional Barista of the Year finals last night winning both the 1st and 2nd positions against over 50 contestants from Taupo to the top of the North Island.

1st place went to Columbus Coffee Barista Tyrone Kairuz from Botany. Columbus Coffee Takapuna Barista, Iain Anderson, won 2nd place and 5th place went to Ben Branks from Columbus Coffee New Market. We had 3 other Barista's in the top 20. "For Columbus to win the top places is excellent, just shows that Columbus Baristas are amongst the most talented and professional Baristas in Auckland, and in the North of the country, " said Graeme Tait MD Columbus Coffee.

The annual Barista Awards sees the country's leading Baristas compete for the opportunity to represent New Zealand in the '2004 World Barista Championships'.

There are 3 regional competition Northern, Central and Southern with the top two contestants from each region competing for a place in the final for the coveted title of 'National Barista of the Year 2003'.

"The National Barista Awards recognises and promotes industry excellence and keeps raising the standard of professionalism of the countries leading Baristas" says Graeme Tait. "At Columbus we are dedicated to serving the best and freshest coffee. I believe our outstanding result is directly related to our passion for coffee and the training and support we provide for our Barista teams in our stores. Producing consistently great coffee is a real skill. Having professional Baristas like Tyrone, Iain, and Ben in our team ensures that Columbus customers receive consistently good coffee every time they visit one of 5 stores around Auckland" says Graeme Tait.

A team of industry experts assess the Baristas ability at creating perfect espresso, cappuccino and a signature coffee within a specified time and will take into consideration the quality, presentation and creativity shown by contestants.

“Columbus has been judged best by the best” says Graeme